JOIN USMadikeri's Ankita relishing hockey success
The hockey-loving state of Karnataka came alive with celebrations like the rest of the country during the stirring campaign of the Indian men’s and women’s teams at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. A bronze medal after 41 years for men and a narrow miss for women had everybody hooked to the sport.
Among all this jubilation, the absence of homegrown players from the state in both squads resulted in a tinge of disappointment for many fans in Karnataka.
However, the presence of Ankita Suresh, assistant coach of the Indian women’s team, was the saving grace for the largest state in Southern India.
The 28-year-old, a resident of Attur Nallur village, in Somvarpet, Madikeri was selected to be a part of the team in January 2020.
Daughter of BA Suresh and Dharmavathi, Ankita's journey in sports began as a five-year-old by winning at the local ‘kesaru gaddhe ota’ (running race on slush) races before excelling in 3000 and 5000mts.
The switch to hockey from athletics came about when she was in the Junior College and joined the SAI hostel in Madikeri for training. “Coach Ponnachanna Srinivas introduced me to hockey in which I represented Karnataka in junior and senior competitions as a player. However, due to circumstances at home, I had to start working after completing my under-graduation. This was when Muthukumar sir guided me to take up a diploma in coaching which was life-changing,” she said.
Married to Honnampadi Suresh, Ankita who was employed by the DYES after finishing her NIS, has also completed her Level-3 coaching course by Hockey India and is one among a few Level-2 Technical Officials from India.
Ankita said working with Former Chief coach Sjoerd Marijne and Janneke Schopman for the Tokyo Olympics has not only enriched her coaching knowledge but taught her essential life lessons.
“It was the best experience ever," Ankita told DH. "Though the last 14-16 months weren't ideal to prepare and compete due to the pandemic, Marijne sir taught us how to handle a team during tough situations. I feel extremely lucky to have got this opportunity at such a young age. The lessons learnt from him and Janneke (who was the analytical coach then), has inspired me to work on producing quality hockey players along with their overall development,” she explained.
“Though not many people gave us a chance, we as a team were always focused on the plan and strategy in place. Our entire energy was dedicated to execute everything we had prepared for and looked at the bright side even after losing the first three matches,” she said.
Back home after weeks of felicitations across the nation, conversations such as the revival of hockey or parents not hesitant of letting their children play sports are what makes Ankita and the team feel hopeful and satisfied. “That’s when the magnitude of our achievement completely sunk in. We felt proud of our contribution in changing the mindset among people.”
While the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha announced rewards of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively, Karnataka, Ankita’s home state, rewarded her with Rs 1 lakh along with the other three Olympians Aditi Ashok (golf), Srihari Nataraj (swimming) and Fouaad Mirza (equestrian) in a ceremony held on Sunday.